Welcome back from the weekend MBG readers! Lauren here again, sharing one of my most favorite seasons in fashion: Spring. Besides Spring weather being my absolute favorite {minus the allergies!}, nothing is sweeter to me than being able to pull out my dresses again {and go shopping for new ones!}.

Today, I am showing you some of my current favorites, inspired by this beautiful image of tulips in bloom.

Friday is the day I get to relax, go out to dinner with my husband, hang out with friends, go to church, take my dog to the park, see my family, go shopping & more! Well, not all of that is done on Friday...but it's the start.

On another note, here's a sneak peek into our New York City apartment - shot by the talented & lovely Janis Nicolay. Wish I could show you more, because the rest are sooo pretty!!

The first 3 she took, the last one I took, just because..... We'll see where the pictures end up soon!

Hello again! It is Lori and Michelle again from pure2raw. We have a super easy breakfast idea for you today! It is made from one of our favorite ingredients to use - quinoa. Do you remember our quinoa bake that we shared awhile back?

Quinoa is one of our go to ingredients to use to make some really fun and super easy meals. We love quinoa for so many reasons like, it is naturally gluten-free and full of protein.

But we also love it mainly because it is so easy to create sweet and savory dishes with. If you have not tried quinoa yet, you must go out and get yourself some. Promise you will love it.

Quinoa cooks up in just 15-20 minutes, making it doable for people with busy schedules and who still want a hearty healthy meal.
Since strawberries are coming into season now we thought about jazzing up a breakfast idea with a mix of quinoa and strawberries.

We made this recipe feed just 1-2 people, so we cooked the quinoa a little differently then you normally would. Instead of doing the original ratio of 2 cups water to 1 cup quinoa, we just halved that. We did 1 cup water to 1/2 cup quinoa and let cook for about 13-15 minutes. You could double this recipe to feed more or make enough for leftovers!

Another great thing about this quinoa breakfast is that you really can add in any flavorings or toppings of your liking. If you do not have strawberries, any berry or fruit would work. Even throwing in some chocolate chips for a little sweet chocolaty breakfast would be tasty. The sky is the limit! Have a little fun in the kitchen.

Directions:
In a pot over high heat place your 1 cup water and bring to a boil. Once water is boiling add in your dry quinoa. Return to a boil then reduce heat and let simmer for about 15 minutes.
At the 15 minutes pour in your 1/3 cup milk of choice and add in your remaining ingredients and flavorings. And stir together for about another 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and pour into your bowl and enjoy.
Other great flavor ideas:

adding in some fresh lemon zest or orange would be great too

adding in some chocolate chips (chocolate and strawberries yes please)

add in more berries or more fruit

drizzle with honey or maple syrup for a more sweeter breakfast

or a few drops of stevia would be wonderful for more of a sugar free option

This quinoa strawberry coconut breakfast bowl is easy to make the night before and just re-heat in the morning!

Now that is one heart healthy breakfast bowl made in 20 minutes.
Who else loves quinoa? Do you like your quinoa sweet or savory?

Yesterday I received my J. Crew catalog & loved every bit of it. However, when I got to this page (below) I asked my husband, "would you wear colorful pants?"

His response was, "Ewwww, you can quote me on that."

So there you go, my guy will NOT wear colorful pants even if they WERE in trend. Come to think of it, I don't think I'd like to see him in these either. Let's face it, there aren't that many men that can pull these off. Women look much nicer in colorful pants...my opinion. Sorry J.Crew, I love your stuff, but I just can't picture my guy in mint-colored khakis. In my mind, the only guy who can pull this look off is 1980's Jon Cryer.

Good morning everyone! Thanks to Amy Atlas for this lovely book which came in the mail yesterday!

I'm so delighted to finally receive Sweet Designs after hearing so much about it! Amy Atlas is a former lawyer who is now a sweets stylist - creating all kinds of gorgeous dessert tables displayed to perfection! Her dessert tables are always so colorful & eye-popping which make her a favorite in the dessert styling world! The tables are ideal for weddings, special events, baby showers & more! No matter what party you plan, this girl can get it together!

My favorite parts of the book are the 'custom candy bar wrappers' - fantastic idea.... which I'll be trying pretty soon! I also loved both the 'chipper chocolate cupcakes' & the 'chocolate beehive cupcakes' (all pictured below).

Don't they all look tasty?

Ahhh I'm such a sucker for sweets, if only my waistline wouldn't expand in the process!

I love how soft & calming it is, don't you? In my opinion it's best paired with GOLD. Those two colors together really stand out. In fact, we are probably going to launch a Mint + Gold LOVE print soon! What do you think about that?? So excited!

With all this mint obsession going around, here are 10 minty items I've gathered for you, which is your favorite??

Hey there lovelies, this is Eileen from A Creative Day. I'm here this Wednesday sharing a little about my rental..

The GOOD

Renting has made me more creative in how I inject my design aesthetic into a place I can't really change. Do I want to wallpaper my entry? Yes. But instead I painted a wall graphic to add some interest but it can be easily painted over when we move out. It also allowed me to pitch to my husband why I NEEDED that massive 6 foot by 3 foot painting for my dining room... "See honey, I'm not going to paint so I really need a shot of color in here."

The BAD

My degree is in architecture so all I want to do is rip down some walls, open up our floor plan and do a little happy dance with all my eames chairs. My landlord and husband say no. Also, said landlord is fighting replacing the black and white wallpaper in the bathroom that totally doesn't match the black and white tile in the same room. I guess what frustrates me the most about renting is not having the control. I want to be able to decide if I want to replace the cabinets in the kitchen or paint my bedroom navy, and renting requires the opinion of another person who most certainly might not agree with what you think needs to be done.

The UGLY

The outer space "I really belong in a Star Trek movie" chandelier that was in our dining room. Period.

Interested in sharing your place???

If you'd like to share, the good, the bad, the ugly of living in a rental, email me your submission with 3-4 pictures of your apartment! Pls use the same format as above!

Hello everyone! It's Casie Mace once again bringing you some Fashion! As I've mentioned before, I'm obsessed with all-things-white during for spring and summer. I love wearing (slash challenging myself to) the all white ensemble. But to mix it up a little, it's fun to just look around and force yourself to be inspired by something more random--like a table-top floral arrangement!

I loved these arrangements--they're so crisp and classy that they could easily be used to inspire different looks. So fun!

I thought about that question today & realized I've NEVER... EVER worn wooden bangles, but after coming across VOZ - I'm now thinking twice. The bangles at VOZ are all hand-painted & you can also order custom colors! Neat right??They're quite on trend too with neons & pastels to accentuate any wardrobe!

Janis Nicolay flew in this past weekend to shoot our apartment. It was so much fun! She's so down to earth & friendly.

My HUSBAND also made a bunch of hors d'oeuvres - with edible flowers - aren't they pretty?????? He is so AWESOME & helpful!

I can't show any pictures just yet, (she's looking to submit to magazines) but I may show you one or two teaser pics in the coming weeks! Here she is below during the photo shoot, I love how my painting looks in the background, so colorful!